Russian airline Aeroflot has taken away a traveler’s loyalty miles after smuggling his cat onto the plane.
Mikhail Galin was headed to Vladivostok from Moscow and decided to bring his overweight cat, Viktor, along in the cabin, CNN reports.
The problem: The airline’s weight limit for pets in the cabin is 8 kilograms, or about 17.6 pounds. Viktor tipped the scales at 10 kilograms.
Galin didn’t want his cat to ride in the belly of the plane. He didn’t take the flight.
He wrote a Facebook post about the situation and asked for help finding a similar cat of lower weight. Someone came forward with an appropriate feline, and Galin returned for another try.
When it was time for the cat to be weighed, he presented the thinner substitute, according to CNN. Before boarding, he pulled the old switcheroo.
Galin and Viktor made it to Vladivostok without issue. But Galin’s viral Facebook post caught the attention of the airline, which then stripped him of his air miles.
He took the loss in stride, saying, “I got a penalty. It’s normal.”
Read more at CNN